Lee Croft-Clark, Chloe Smith Address Jamestown School Board

Community members asked the Jamestown School Board to consider adding a Community Navigator for the African American Community. The Jamestown Public Schools District used American Rescue Plan funds to hire two Community Navigators for the Hispanic community who started this Fall.

Pastor Lee Croft-Clark spoke on behalf of members of the local African American Community, saying a group had spoke with Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker about performance of African American students. Whitaker provided performance data, which Croft-Clark said was concerning, “So, we decided to come here today to seek your help or approval for what we call a student navigator to help with student activities relative to the school versus their homes and to see if the navigator can be a mediator to help to increase student performance.”

Reverend and parent Chloe Smith said the data provided by the district showed that African American students are behind in English Language Arts, Math, and have declining graduation rates. She said the group came to the board meeting in line with the District’s Family and Community Engagement Plan, “We are concerned. And we’re here. Now that we’ve seen the data, we want to be included in any effort to coordinate family and community engagement. And we want to be here to assist in helping our students to improve academically.”

Board member Pat Slagle, acting as board president for the evening, said the board would work with the group through the Superintendent on the group’s request.

Concerns that not enough funding was being provided for mental health and addiction services were raised by several speakers. Resident Karen Neil said the city is drowning in a mental health crisis and questioned the usefulness of the proposed funding plan, “You know, this sounds good? But I don’t see that it’s going to actually do something. If you can’t work the health portion of it, the economic portion of it, the society portion of it, the cultural portion of it. You can’t work them all together. It’s a waste of time. Somebody makes some money over here and doesn’t care about that one over there. What do we do in the meantime?”

Mayor Eddie Sundquist responded, acknowledging there were a lot of gaps and that he had been in discussions with the Chautauqua County Mental Hygiene Department about how to handle these issues.
Several speakers brought up the issue of transportation including this woman who did not identify herself, “You can have all the great things downtown or at the arena or even out at the northside but if they can’t get there. What’s cab fare? One way? It’s like, if you have no money, even if the event you want to go to is free, you can’t get there. So if there was a way to support CARTS, maybe free passes for people over a certain age or under a certain age.”

Sundquist said transportation wasn’t currently included in the plan but that the city has been in discussions with CARTS, which is run by the county, to expand services.

Another suggestion made several times was to designate the $1.5 million in housing funds toward specific areas. Pastor Chloe Smith asked if it could directed toward those with low-income and people of color, “How can all these millions and millions of dollars keep processing through the land, but not one person that I know has seen any of it? I’m so sick of that. How do I know that there’s going to be equity and equality in the distribution of these $28 million?”

Sundquist said these concerns are why the listening sessions were held so that the city could get feedback and make changes to the plan. He anticipates it’ll be about a month before City Council makes any decisions on how the money will be allocated.

The funding must be committed by 2024 and spent by 2026 or returned back to the Treasury Department.

The rally was organized by the Jamestown Justice Coalition and followed the discovery of anti-Semitic and White Supremacy language written on the statues of the Tableau over the 4th of July weekend. Back in May, one of the three statues was stolen. It has not been recovered at this time.

Pastor Chloe Smith opened the rally, talking about the importance of Dow Park given its close proximity to the home of the first Black woman in Jamestown, Katherine Harris as well as being near the home of abolitionist Silas Shearman. Both were instrumental is helping guide slaves to freedom. Smith said our city needs healing, “And we today are saying we want freedom and equality for all people. We have gathered here today to make a declaration over our city, over our county, over our nation that every, every person is able to make a difference.”

Jamestown Justice Coalition leader Justin Hubbard emphasized that the vandalism was not random, “Random acts of vandalism are not White Supremacists symbols. They’re not Nazi swastikas. It’s not white power when it’s random on Underground Railroad statues of all people, of Katherine Harris and Silas Shearman. That’s not random. That’s an act of terror. That’s white supremacy and you do not belong in my city. You do not.”

Hubbard said he kept hearing it was just “some kids,” “Well if it’s ‘just some kids’ then we need to take a look at what we’re teaching our kids! Because when something like that happens, when our statues are stolen, when white supremacist symbols, when racists remarks are put on our statues, that’s an attack on the Black community of Jamestown. That’s exactly what it is. You’re attacking the Black community of Jamestown. But when you attack the Black community of Jamestown, you’re attacking all of Jamestown.”

Hubbard added that the fight for justice needs to be intersectional to include other marginalized voices.

Anyone with information on the vandalism of the statues or the theft of one of them is asked to contact Jamestown Police’s anonymous TIPS line at (716) 483-8477.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council is under scrutiny from some members of the community for allegedly failing to attend a series of recent protests and rallies focusing on the Black Lives Matter movement. In addition, one specific council member is also being criticized by a local resident and candidate for public office for a post he made on social media this past weekend.

During the public comment portion of Monday night’s remote council work session – which was streamed online – the city clerk read a series of comments sent via email from several Jamestown residents, including Democratic candidate for the 150th State Assembly seat, Christina Cardinale.

A meme that was shared by Jamestown City Councilman Jeffery Russell on June 6, 2020 and which was scrutinized by a city resident and State Assembly candidate Christina Cardinale

Cardinale was critical of councilman and retired police officer Jeff Russell (R-At Large) for a pro-gun post on his personal Facebook page that was purported to be from Saturday, June 6. The post appears to be shared from the New York State Firearms Association and was intended for Russell’s Facebook friends only, but still managed to find its way to the public sphere.

“On 6/6 councilman Jeff Russell posted the following message on social media. Quote – The answer to the question, ‘Why do you need an AR-15 and a 30-round magazine?’ is on every news channel today – end quote,” Cardinale’s stated in her email, then directed a specific question to Russell. “Councilman Russell, can you please clarify your comment in full detail? When I turn on any news channel I see the black community demanding the end to systemic racism and I am now under the impression a retired Jamestown Police officer supports firing a semi-automatic rifle at Black Lives Matters protesters.”

Russell addressed the comment and defended his post, saying his post was actually a meme that he shared and was in now way calling for violence against any person or group of people. Russell added that he shared it after the death of a retired police captain in St. Louis during the weekend riots in that city.

“This featured a comment about owning an AR-15 and was in support of the Second Amendment, guaranteeing our right to bear arms – my right to defend my home  and my family and my fellow citizens’ right to do the same,” Russell said. “You are now attempting to create a controversy where controversy doesn’t exist.”

Russell was also critical of Cardinale for trying to score political points as part of her political campaign.

“It’s no secret we find ourselves in a tremendously difficult time in this country. But your efforts to score political points by cherry-picking a singular Facebook post, which never referenced violence against the black community or peaceful protesters, is the absolute worst political stunt of its kind. It’s reprehensible, in fact,” Russell said.

In her correspondence, Cardinale also asked the full city council if it had any thoughts about Russell’s post and if the council has a policy regarding social media.

Jeffery Russell

Council president Tony Dolce (R-Ward 2) said that he can vouch for Russell’s character through his 20+ years on the Jamestown Police Department, as well as with his various interactions with all students and staff at Jamestown High School where Dolce teaches.

Dolce also said there is no policy regarding how an elected member of the city council conducts themselves on social media.

“As far as social media conduct, we are elected officials. We are adults. We all make choices in terms of what we want to post [on social media]. There are no rules, laws, or regulations regarding what we can and cant’ do. We all have First Amendment rights,” Dolce said.

Russell wasn’t the only person on the council criticized during the public comment portion of the work session.  Another city resident – Autumn Echo Swanson – chastised the council for not showing support during two recent rallies in Jamestown, organized by the Jamestown Justice Coalition.

“Both rallies have seen poor attendance and support from city officials. I would like to know why the city council has chosen not to support the Jamestown Justice Coalition when a large number of the constituents of the council – including those deeply and personally affected by the mission – are in support of the efforts being made by the coalition,” Swanson wrote.

It’s worth noting that both Dolce and councilman Tom Nelson (D-Ward 6) attended the rally on Sunday, May 31 – along with Mayor Eddie Sundquist and Police chief Harry Snellings.

Council woman Vickye James (D-Ward 3) also took umbrage with the remark, pointing to her long-standing involvement and leadership in the city’s black community.

“As a black mother, a black woman, a black daughter, I always have had this issue come to my face every day. It matters to me. The people in my community matter to me, and because I don’t make one event does not make me not care about being black. That’s ridiculous,” James said.

The council’s other African American member, Tamu Graham-Reinhardt, also addressed the issue – asking those who are critical of the council members to “sit back and take a breath.”

Swanson also raised concern about a lack of leadership and guidance from the council when it comes to working toward improving conditions in the African American community.

“The issue at hand – an issue for which Jamestown is now immune – concerns the poor training, systemic laws and over funding that have led to rampant police brutality across this country,” Swanson wrote. “On a local level we see multiple accounts of socioeconomic instability among our minority communities, ranging from underfunded neighborhood development; disregard for the issue of food insecurity; lack of minority representation and decision making; and a lack of support, education and funding of minority-owned businesses in Jamestown. My question for the Jamestown City Council is this: Where are you?”

Dolce explained that he has already had a conversation about those concerns with the mayor and the city would be working to address them more thoroughly in the near future.

Also during the correspondences last night, city resident Rev. Chloe Smith again urged the city to work toward bringing more diversity into the ranks, something that city officials have acknowledged needs to happen, but also said that it is difficult with a very limited pool of qualified candidates to draw from.

Rev. Chloe Smith (left) talks with Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist (center) and Jamestown Police Chief Harry Snellings (right) during a Black Lives Matter rally in Dow Park Sunday, May 31, 2020.

JAMESTOWN – There were two rallies that took place in Jamestown on Sunday as part of the series of national protests taking place across the country. The days of protests were triggered by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died when a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes.

Nearly 200 people were at Dow Park at noon to express solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and to also share concerns about how law enforcement deals with minorities in the community. Leading the rally at noon was Rev. Chloe Smith from God and Zion Tabernacle Church, who urged the community to come together and work with public officials to improve the relationship between police and its residents.

“We are demanding a change starts in our city and we are going to be proactive. We are not going wait until something bad happens. We want the change now,” Smith said, speaking to those in attendance. “We’re not going to be reactive, having the protests after something happens. We want the communication with our law enforcement now! We want to conduct with our law enforcement now!”

Other members of the faith community, including Pastor Roy Ferguson of the Busti Church of God, were also on hand to share support.

“All of us who are not a person of color, whether we want to believe it or not, we have privilege. We need to leverage that privilege to love our neighbor as ourselves, and everyone including persons of color are our neighbors.  We need to leverage that privilege. We didn’t ask for it but we were born with it and we need to use it to bless those who God has created equal in his sight,” Ferguson told the crowd.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist, Police Chief Harry Snellings and Chautauqua County Sheriff Jim Quattrone all attended the rally, along with some members of the Jamestown City Council. Sundquist, the chief and the sheriff also spent nearly 45 minutes talking to attendees to respond to their questions and concerns.

Sundquist said he felt it was important to be at the event and show support with those who were attending.

“As communities across the country start to protest and start to demand more things, we wanted to let our entire community know that myself and our entire police force are hear to listen actively and to start to make changes to be more inclusive here in the city,” Sundquist said.

A crowd gathers around city of Jamestown Police Chief Harry Snellings and Mayor Eddie Sundquist as the two answer questions during a Black Lives Matter rally on May 31, 2020

Some of those concerns focused on hiring more minority officers in the Jamestown Police Department, along with working to ensure officers who work for the city also live within the city. Others also expressed frustration over feeling like they are being specifically targeted by law enforcement for no other reason than the color of their skin.

When asked how man officers live in Jamestown, Snellings said 25 of of the 62 members of the Jamestown Police Department are residents of Jamestown.

“So 25 out of the 60 officers actually live in the city? That is not community policing. We need community policing. If [an officer] does not live in Jamestown, you are coming in and you are enforcing a law. You are not part of the community. You are an occupying force,” stated Justin Hubbard, a city resident who was in attendance. “I will not be occupied any more. How are you going to fix that?”

Afterward, Mayor Sundquist said the city will be continuing to meet and talk with the community and work toward addressing some of the concerns brought up at the rally, including having more officers who reside within the city.

“It’s very difficult unless its negotiated [into a collective bargaining agreement] or certain local laws are passed. But we’re trying very hard to encourage our residents to apply for those positions and to be part of our community. We’ve talked about incentivizing that for every employee in the city.  It’s a process. I’ve only been on the job for five months so we’re trying very hard to deal with things as they come up,” Sundquist said.

Chief Snellings also said that while he supports hiring more minority officers, it can be difficult when the city receives few, if any, applications In response, one attendee suggested the police department work harder at encouraging young minorities within the community to pursue careers in law enforcement.

When asked if they felt George Floyd was murdered by the Minneapolis Police Officer, Snellings and Quatrone both acknowledged the the restraint being used wasn’t standard procedure and shouldn’t have been used, but both stopped short of saying it was murder, saying there could have been other factors at play that may have resulted in death. Mayor Sundquist did say that it was murder, based only on what he saw and the information he knows about the case.

A second rally took place at City Hall on Sunday night, beginning at 6 p.m. and continuing until just before 11 p.m. While there was a large gathering in front of city hall on East Third Street near the intersection with Spring, it appeared to be a peaceful event with no damages or arrests reported at that location. However, later in the evening, shortly before midnight, city police did say two men were arrested following an altercation with another group in an area near E. Second and Pine Streets.

Police say 32-year-old Jason Burham of Ashville and 31-year-old Michael Burham of Russell, Pa. were taken into custody on charges of disorderly conduct and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

NY Assemblyman Andy Goodell, Rev. Chloe Smith, Hispanic Community Council of Chautauqua County director Max Martin, YWCA executive Director Jacqueline Chiarot Phelps, and Jamestown Councilwoman Maria Jones.

JAMESTOWN – Dozens of community members stopped by the YWCA of Jamestown Thursday to take part in the YWCA Jamestown’s “Stand Against Racism” Pledge Signing event.

According to YWCA executive director Jacqueline Chiarot Phelps, the event was one of many held by YWCAs across the country to  Stand Against Racism from April 25-28.

“The YWCA’s mission includes eliminating racism. It’s the fist part of our mission. So we were happy to come together today as part of the YWCA USA’s ‘Stand Against Racism’ to encourage this community to include all and to realize that we are one community and to eliminate racism,” Chiarot Phelps said.

The event also served as the kickoff to the re-start of YWCA’s Social Justice Committee, which will meet on the third Wednesday of each month, starting in May.

“Part of today’s mission was to kick off our Social Justice Committee and that will be restarting every third Wednesday of the month. So May 15 will be our first meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the YWCA, 430 North Main Street,” Chiarot Phelps said. “It’s open to the public. We believe that eliminating racism is a huge part of our community and we want to make sure that the community members who are engaged and excited to do that are included.”

Joining Phelps in speaking at the event were several local officials, including Assemblyman Andy Goodell, Hispanic Community Council chair Max Martin, Rev. Chloe Smith, and city councilwoman Maria Jones, who said that while the current national climate might make us think there are major problems to making racial justice a reality, ground is being gained locally in the Jamestown area.

“The city of Jamestown is like a lot of cities in America. We thought that we had gotten so far ahead with racism, but now, recently, we’ve seen all the negative things that the news can give to us. But you know what? There’s been a lot of work, and a lot of caring, and a lot of improvement in this area. Don’t be jaded by the news all the time and bout how bad things are. Things are good, they can be good, and I believe they can be better in the city if all of us here – everybody in this room – takes part in what the YWCA is trying to do here,” Jones said.

Anyone wanting to learn more about the YWCA and its its mission, as well as how to become a part of the Social Justice Committee can visit YWCAOfJamestown.com.

Jamestown Salary Review Commission during its Dec. 5, 2018 meeting.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Salary Review Commission has made a recommendation for salary adjustments for elected officials in the city.

On Wednesday morning the commission met for just over half an hour to discuss and vote on its recommendation for changes to the salaries of the office of mayor and all nine Jamestown city council seats.  It was the second meeting of the commission, with the first taking place last month.

The current annual salary for the office of mayor is $72,000. The annual salary for the nine city council members is $5,000 – with the council president receiving an additional $1000 in pay.

The last time the office of mayor received a salary adjustment was in 2008, while the last time the city council received any salary adjustment was in 1984, more than 30 years ago.

After reviewing what the salary would be if it followed a trajectory of an annual 2 percent increase, the commission voted 5-0 to recommend an increase to the mayor’s annual salary to $85,000 and increasing the council’s annual salary to $10,000, with the council president still receiving an additional $1000. The total increase to the city spending would equal $58,000.

During the discussion, commissioner member Peg Cornell said the salary adjustments are overdue.

“When [this recommendation] is presented to the city council I think we have to talk about the question of equity, because that’s so important. There hasn’t been another employee working in the city of Jamestown that hasn’t received some increase in their salary and I think that’s very important to state, because this is about equity,” Cornell said.

Other commission members pointed out that even with the recommended increase the salary for the mayor’s position would still be in line with other communities of similar size across the state and what they pay their mayor and/or city manager.  And the issue of attracting the best qualified candidates was brought up, with the commission agreeing that a higher salary will bring in a larger pool of potential candidates for the mayor’s office and city council in future years.

The recommendation will now be brought before the city council for its consideration. The council can either act on the recommendation as it is or adjust it. The council also has the option to not take any action at all, in which case the salary would remain unchanged.

If the council were to adjust the salaries, they wouldn’t go into effect until Jan. 1, 2020 – following the 2019 elections that includes the mayoral race in addition to the nine council seats that will also be up for a vote.

The last time commission recommendations were brought forward was in 2014. At that time it suggested the council salary be bumped up to $6,000 per year. It also recommended the mayor’s salary increase to $90,000 over a four-year period.  Once the recommendations were made, the council opted not to change the salaries due to ongoing financial challenges facing the city.

The salary review commission is created every four years in accordance with the city charter to review salaries for elected officials and bring forward a recommendation. Its members are selected by the Mayor and City Council president.

The six city residents serving on the 2018 commission are Cornell, Howard Brook, Tyler Case, Cornell, Dr. Lillian Ney, Rev. Chloe Smith, and Catherine Way. Case was the only commission member absent during Wednesday’s meeting and recommendation vote.

The city charter calls for the creation of a salary review commission every four years to review the salary for mayor and members of the council.

Earlier this year the mayor and city council appointed six city residents to serve on the commission. They are Tyler Case, Peg Cornell, Catherine Way, Howard Brook, Dr. Lillian Ney and Rev. Chloe Smith.

The current salary for the office of mayor is $72,000, which has not been increased since 2008. Since 1984, the annual salary for members of the council is $5,000, with $6,000 being paid to the president.

According to the Post-Journal, no official recommendation was made during yesterday’s meeting, where members primarily reviewed the history of the salaries as well as the previous recommendations that were made four years ago, which the city council did not act on.

The next meeting of the commission will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 5.

Any change in salary would have to be acted on by the city council in advance of the 2019 election and wouldn’t go into effect until January 2020.

Jamestown City Councilman and Finance Committee Chair Tony Dolce (second from left) shares details on the Salary Review Commission during the Jamestown City Council voting session on July 30, 2018.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council Monday Night acted on the appointment of all six members of the city’s ad hoc Salary Review Commission.

According to the city charter, the city is required to establish the commission in order to review and make recommendations on the salary for both Mayor and the nine members of the City Council.

The six commission members appointed on Monday are Dr. Lillian Ney, Howard Brook, Chloe Smith, Peg Cornell, Catherine Way, and Tyler Case.

Acting on salary recommendations for elected officials is always a touchy issue, especially when the city is facing major financial challenges, which the city is currently dealing with due to being at its constitutional taxing limit.  That’s why city officials have not acted on any recommendations that have come forward the past 10 years.

Since 1984 the base city council salaries have been at $5,000, while council president’s salary is $6,000. Meanwhile the salary for the mayor is currently $72,000. The last time that was increased was at the start of 2008.

The last time commission recommendations were brought forward was in 2014. At that time it suggested the council salary be bumped up to $6,000 per year. It also recommended the mayor’s salary increase to $90,000 over a four-year period.  Once the recommendations were made, the council opted not to change the salaries due to ongoing financial challenges facing the city.

Any recommendations that come from the current commission will be reviewed by the city council and if officials chose to adjust salaries the changes would not take place until a new city council and mayoral term begins, which would be in the year 2020.

The council has until early 2019 to receive the recommendations and act on any salary increase.

In other news, the city council also approved the appointment John LaMancuso to be a member of the city Planning Commission and Dr. Ney to be reappointed to the Jamestown Community College Board of Trustees.